As Hurricane Matthew moves up the eastern coast of the U.S., the people of Haiti work to survive another natural disaster. More than 800 people are dead amid the widespread devastation left by the hurricane in the Western Wemisphere's poorest country.

"The damage is catastrophic. They don't know the total loss of life at this point," said Jay Johnston, the associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Covington.

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The news from Haiti is grim at best. Beyond the loss of life, thousands of homes and entire communities were leveled by the storm's strong winds, heavy rains and flooding. Because of its ongoing work in Haiti, the Louisiana Baptist Convention already had people on the ground when the storm hit. Reading from phone messages and email, Johnston said the news is not good.

"Food is scarce. Water sources are contaminated, and just about all of the people are exposed to the elements due to the damage of their homes," Johnston said.

Wayne Sheppard, the executive assistant to the executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, already had a trip planned to Haiti when the storm hit.

"To see this happen is just heartbreaking, because I know how hard they are hit and how much they are hurting now," Sheppard said.

Louisiana Baptists are building an orphanage and children's village in Haiti, but the hurricane has interrupted and redirected their efforts for a while.

"It has wiped out crops. It has wiped out livestock which they are absolutely dependent on for living," Sheppard said.

"There's some first responders there getting information back, and then from there we'll begin sending teams down there to help where we can," Johnston said.

The question now is how can people help?

"We have a Haiti fund set up that all of those funds totally goes to the ongoing work of Haiti and will certainly help with the relief efforts there," Johnston said.

"They don't have anything, but they'll give everything they can to take care of us even though we're coming to take care of them," Sheppard said.

Both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Louisiana Baptist Convention have teamed poised to respond to Hurricane Matthew, both in Haiti and along the eastern coast of the U.S.